Thursday, April 23, 2015

When I first started my adventure with Cindy Ho Designs, it wasn’t an easy start. Many hours designing and perfecting my work on top of setting up my shop on Etsy. All the while, having others diminish my goals, dreams and classifying my work as a hobby shop. In their mind, I started this business because I became a mom and started to make crappy craft stuff for a little extra pocket money.

They got in my head in the beginning. Today I’ve evolved and now dismiss my haters. I have more supporters who love what I do. My first supporters actually are my Creation family! (my day job) May of my co-workers follow me on Instagram and asked me to make custom cards after posting some on a whim. My biggest supporter who really helped me hold it together is my wonderful husband. Couldn’t do it without him.

Awesome People

About Me

Cindy Y. Ho was born and raised on the west coast of British Columbia, Canada . During her childhood to early adulthood she enjoyed folding origami and honed her folding skills. As time past, she developed past the stage of the traditional crane to complex models such as modular models, flowers, butterflies and dragons that she enjoyed giving away as gifts. However, as she entered the post secondary stage of her educational life, her focus shifted from her hobby to studying and preparing herself for the workforce. Her origami papers and books soon collected dust.

After graduating with honours from British Columbia's Institute of Technology (BCIT) in 1999, she excelled as a Buyer and Materials Planner in the demanding industry of electronics contract manufacturing. In 2006, she and her husband were blessed with their first child. A few months into her maternity leave, she found her dusty papers and books and revived her long lost passion - origami. After reminiscing her friend's wonderment when they received an origami gift, she felt that other people would enjoy them as well. Her entrepreneurial spirit was stirred and taught herself to build a simple website and started an online store, West Coast Origami devoted to origami gifts and crafts. After returning to the workforce, Cindy continued to practice origami and experimented with new papers. She proudly showcased her work on flickr and Facebook.

In 2009, her family were blessed with their second child. During her maternity leave, Cindy upgraded her web design skills and upgraded her online store. She expanded West Coast Origami with Etsy , an online marketplace devoted to handmade products.